


A Decade Ago

by just_makeing_it_gay_97



Series: Thirteen/Rose [3]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Minor Original Character(s), The Oncoming Storm (Doctor Who), Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:55:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22722058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_makeing_it_gay_97/pseuds/just_makeing_it_gay_97
Summary: Rose and the Doctor just want to have a nice date on Earth, but they forget the year and the struggles it brings.Aka, 2009 was more homophobic than they remember.Thirteen/Rose, mentions of homophobia
Relationships: The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Rose Tyler, Thirteenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Thirteen/Rose [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1632961
Comments: 3
Kudos: 146





	A Decade Ago

"Table for two, please!"

The waitress gave them a smile, and picked up two menus. The Doctor followed after her, feeling a bit funny wearing different clothes than everyone else in there, but she wanted to put some effort in for her wife.

Even if Valentine's Day was a moneymaking scam in her eyes, it meant something to her wife, so she'd be dammed not to take it seriously.

Thus; the doctor wore a clean pair of trousers (the one  _ without  _ the oil stains) her white coat and her clean (note:  _ clean _ ) jumper with suspenders.

Okay so it wasn't anything extravagant but it would matter to Rose.

"Meeting anyone special tonight, dear?"

The Doctor smiled at the waitress, accepting the menu and browsing the wines.

"Yes, actually. My wife! She told me she was going to dress up as well, I'm very excited!"

She picked a posh sounding white wine and offered the menu back.

"Ta, love. That'll be everything for now!"

The waitress smiled, a little smaller, and walked away. The doctor was doodling on a napkin when she came back, writing some Gallifreyan for her Time Lord wife.

Two glasses and a bottle were placed on her table, with noticeably less conversation. The Doctor didn't clock it, finishing the last intricate circle on the diagram.

That's when the chair opposite pulled backwards, and the Doctor looked up with a massive grin at the  _ vision _ which was her wife.

Jeans, black leather jacket, a white version of the doctor's jumper and a key necklace strung around her neck. Beautiful.

"Sorry I'm late," she spoke, leaning around the table and giving the Doctor a quick kiss on the lips, "got lost on the way here, TARDIS didn't park very close."

The Doctor grinned and held out her hand, Rose took it as she sat, intertwining their fingers. The waitress came over just as the Doctor couldn't contain herself.

"You are beautiful, my Rose."

"As are you, my doctor."

Neither noticed the woman uncomfortably stood next to them, until she coughed and smiled awkwardly.

"I thought you were joking before, where were you married? How long?"

She was trying, at least. Rose tensed a little, looking around the restaurant.

The Doctor smiled.

"Oh, feels like forever! In a good way!" She winked at Rose, "could say, a few millennia, right, love?"

The Time Lord grinned back, trying to sense a year for this specific date.

"Absolutely, we're from a far off place, you wouldn't have heard of it."

The woman nodded and asked if they were ready to order, during this Rose managed to catch some clue to the year.

A bunch of tacky looking balloons, an 0, and a 9.

_ … hold on. _

"Erm, quick thing?"

The waitress smiled, still a bit uneasy.

"What're those balloons for?"

She frowned, looking at Rose like she was mad.

"... They're… the year? 2009?"

Rose grinned and nodded.

"Thought so, thanks!"

The waitress left, and Rose faced her wife.

"You know, I think the TARDIS  _ does _ have a death wish for us."

The Doctor scoffed, eating some bread sticks.

"Why'd you think that?"

Rose looked to the balloons and back, noticing how  _ off _ the other patrons seemed. A girl in flared jeans and scene hair, snake bites and mismatched converse was walking to her family table, where a little kid had a birthday balloon with-

_ Oh… for the love of Solitract. _

"Doctor? There's a balloon with Justin Bieber's face on it."

"Ah, fair enough. It's a family place, he was a decent lad you know! After that affair with-"

"With the bowl cut, Doctor." Rose sighed. The Doctor froze and looked over at the table, deflating in defeat.

"No wonder they didn't have my reservation at the desk… we're ten years early. Again."

Rose laughed despite herself, understanding now why people were so weird around them.

"Yeah, the LGBT+ community wasn't as accepted now as it was in 2019. Think we should… go?"

The Doctor looked very serious then, even put the breadstick down, despite leaving some crumbs around her face.

"... Do you feel uncomfortable?"

Rose shrugged.

"Not really, I just… I don't want to ruin this for  _ you _ . It's your first human Valentines!"

The surrounding tables looked at them in minor confusion, but the Doctor ignored them.

"I am over a thousand years old, if anyone wants to try and make me uncomfortable, well, they'll have a hard time at it! If you want to go I'm okay to as well, no worries!"

She smiled, and Rose felt the safety she craved from her love.

"Yeah, okay, let's stay. Food will be here soon."

And soon it was, the Doctor's expensive looking lobster and Rose's humble lasagna arrived quickly and with a small smile from the uncomfortable waitress. They were tucking in, the Doctor just about managing to unlodge a claw, and Rose demolishing her first half, when a heavy voice spoke from across the restaurant.

"No way- Rose Tyler?!"

Rose tensed up again, and the Doctor stopped mid bite. The man approaching was young, white, with an unusual swagger in his step and a piercing in his eyebrow.

Rose closed her eyes and resisted the urge to rub away.

"Connor, hi."

"How's things, babes? Ditched that stick you walked around with?!"

"Why's he so loud?" The doctor whispered at her, Rose shook her head.

"N- yes. Actually I have. This is-"

"Cool! So, what do you say to us going out?"

The Doctor cleared her throat, and Connor glanced her way.

"Sorry, trying to have a conversation? Anyway, Rose, I'll pick you up tonight at eight?"

"Actually, she's busy."

The tension in the Doctor's voice made Rose start, and she noticed how much this man was aggravating her.

"Right, yeah actually Connor I'm seeing someone."

He rolled his eyes.

"Urgh, who this time? Mickey again?"

"No, actually."

Rose met her eyes and gave the Doctor a nod of permission.

"She's dating me, Amy Pond, nice to meet you."

He didn't take her hand, just stared.

"What? No way, you're… you're chicks!"

The restaurant seemed to go quiet then. The family table were staring, and the girl with the scene hair was glaring at Connor.

"Women, actually, Connor."

He gave the Doctor a filthy look, and shook his head.

"Nah, this is a joke, right Rose? You know you want me, so just… quit it and we'll get on with it, yeah?"

She cringed and leant away.

"No, Connor I'm with th- Amy. So, back off."

He got an angry flush on his cheeks then, and the Doctor started to get annoyed.

"Rose you're embarrassing me-"

"You're embarrassing yourself."

The Doctor stood then, placing herself between the two and causing him to step back. Physically she wasn't intimidating, and Connor knew it too from the small smirk on his face, but then he looked in her eyes and felt the fire building from the Oncoming Storm.

Then he stepped back again.

"Now, I think you should leave before we have to get people involved, yeah? Bye bye."

She waved sarcastically with the lobster claw. He looked between the two and huffed, storming out as dramatically as he came.

The Doctor sat down as the Hubble started up again. She placed the claw on the side and tucked her napkin in once more, sighing at the lobster.

"... So how  _ do _ you eat this?"

Rose smiled brightly at  _ her _ Doctor.  _ Her _ wife. Her hearts warmed at the sight of the Time Lord trying to eat her dinner, biting her lip in confusion and cheering quietly when she successfully opened the shell.

She took her hand on the table and rubbed her thumb across the knuckles.

"I love you, so much, my Doctor."

The Doctor stopped, smiled and dropped her form to her plate. She topped Rose's hand with her other, squeezing them tight.

"And I love you, for now and eternity, my Bad Wolf."

**Author's Note:**

> this was fun, if a little sad, to write.
> 
> Happy Valentines! I spent the day with my dog.
> 
> Leave a comment or a kudos pls xo


End file.
